


When the Walls Fall Down

by milesrunner777



Series: Family is a Three-Ring Circus [4]
Category: Under the Red Hood
Genre: BAMF Jason Todd, F/M, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Literature Nerd Jason Todd, Mild Language, but they used to be lovers...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-01-31 11:48:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21445726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milesrunner777/pseuds/milesrunner777
Summary: Talia finds Jason in the rubble after his explosive confrontation with Batman and the Joker
Relationships: Talia al Ghul & Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul/Jason Todd (past)
Series: Family is a Three-Ring Circus [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539823
Comments: 12
Kudos: 159





	1. Chapter 1

Talia was constantly amazed at how such splendor could exist so close to extreme squalor. Here she was, checking into a 5-star hotel, only a couple blocks from the abandoned building where Jason had stashed the Joker in preparation for his confrontation with his father, according to her agents stationed in Gotham. 

When her agents reported that Jason had kidnapped the Joker- one of the final steps in Jason’s plan, she got a strong feeling that her presence would be needed in Gotham that night. And it wasn’t her libido acting up. Ever since she had re-obtained control of Damian, the dynamic of their relationship had changed to be more platonic. No, this feeling… it was something else entirely. It was concern.

She instructed her agents to keep her well-informed of the proceedings. She had them get much closer than she normally would when dealing with members of the extended Bat-Family, trusting that Jason and Bruce would be too caught up in the evening to realize they were being watched. After all, her agents were good, but the Bats, somehow, were better.

She was summarily kept informed of the fight that took place between Jason and the Batman. When one of her agents reported that the Red Hood had retreated into the abandoned building they had surveilled, Talia smiled over her glass of wine. Jason’s plan to bring himself, Bruce, and Joker into a confrontation had worked. All that was left was the ultimatum.

When she heard the explosion, without even seeing it, she knew it was Jason. She didn’t need reports from her agents anymore, even though they kept coming in, rushed voices describing the annihilation of the building. The explosives were a last resort. Things had gone badly. She needed to go. She needed to find out what happened.

As she raced back to her room to retrieve her body armor, there was a series of reports that chilled her to her bones: “Batman survived and is conscious”... “Batman sees Joker’s body in the rubble, and is digging him out”... “Batman is checking the Joker’s vitals… He looks to be alive and unconscious”... “Batman is putting the Joker into his vehicle”... “No sign of the Red Hood”. 

_ Shit. How dare he? How dare Bruce think of Jason as a son? He didn’t… he never looked for Jason’s body. Did he just leave him for dead? Is he dead? No I can’t- I won’t lose my- my son? Do I think of Jason as a son?  _ She chuckled at the irony.  _ Not even three months ago, we made love in my Barcelona penthouse… And now I think of him as a son. At least I have more claim to him than Bruce, at the moment.  _ She took a deep breath.  _ I need to go rescue my son. _

As she hurried down to the lobby, she called one of her agents to come pick her up from the hotel. When they arrived at the site where the building used to stand, she left the car before it had fully stopped, and ran over to the wreckage. True to the reports, there was no immediate visual sign of Jason. She began sifting through the rubble, and her agents quickly followed her example. 

After an agonizing search, she found him, and her heart broke. He was barely breathing, and it was obvious he had suffered numerous serious injuries. She put the thoughts of his injuries aside.  _ First things first: we need to leave Gotham, get back to Nanda Parbat. We can stabilize him on the jet, and I can make a record of his injuries at that time. _ She barked out orders to her agents, and they hastened to follow.

Once they were in the air, Talia examined Jason along with one of her agents who had been a surgeon before coming to the League. The most noticeable injuries were the burns from the explosion that had developed on his face and neck. As they relieved him of his armor, they catalogued a large number of bruises on his torso and arms, as well as the few that were showing through on his face. They had trouble removing the glove from his dominant hand, as it was mangled in a way that Talia recognized as being from a gun backfiring. Talia knew that Jason always maintained his firearms quite well, so they wouldn’t have backfired without being acted upon by an outside force,  _ like an object being lodged in the barrel. A Batarang, for example _ . Talia pursed her lips. _ _

_ Bruce has a lot to account for. His actions have implied to Jason that he doesn’t matter, that the Joker’s life is more valuable than his. It will be hard, getting through to him. Maybe Damian can help in that regard. Jason has always had a soft spot for children. _


	2. Chapter 2

Jason woke up. He… definitely wasn’t in Gotham anymore. There was sunlight streaming in through an open door leading out to a balcony. The air was warm, with a slight breeze making it extremely comfortable. Nope, definitely not Gotham.

He tried to get out of bed, but found that moving caused him excruciating pain. He let out an involuntary hiss, and Talia came running into the room, followed by a boy that looked familiar, but who he couldn’t quite place.

“Jason? How are you feeling?” Talia asked cautiously.

Jason didn’t feel like being subtle. “I feel like I was betrayed by someone I thought of as a father, then had a building dropped on me.”

The boy snorted.  _ Well, it may be dark, but the kid has a sense of humor _ , Jason thought to himself.

Talia grimaced.

Jason continued, “I should be dead right now. B beat the shit out of me, then caused my gun to backfire. Then  _ he  _ got ahold of the-” Jason let out a dry sob and grimaced at the pain it caused. “He got the detonator. And the building collapsed.” Jason took a shaky breath, trying not to aggravate his numerous injuries. “What happened after the building fell? Did you find them?” he asked.

Talia’s eyes momentarily clouded in what looked like anger. Then her expression settled into a carefully crafted mask. “Maybe you should get some rest, Jason. We can talk later.”

Jason could feel the Lazarus energy surge up inside of him. He had no energy to fight it. “They both made it out, didn’t they” he growled. “Of course. Of course they did. Of course  _ he  _ did. And let me guess. He got carted right back to Arkham, while I was left for dead.”

Talia’s mask cracked, and it allowed Jason to see an overwhelming amount of sorrow in her gaze. He knew that she cared for him, but… what he was seeing implied her feelings went deeper than she ever let on. He had only seen that look directed towards one other person, the boy… the boy that was currently standing behind her. Her son.

“Your father-” Jason growled at this, but Talia shot him a look, “-may have left you behind, but  _ I  _ came for you, so don’t you  _ ever _ believe that you aren’t worthy of affection. If he does not wish for you to be his son anymore, then you can be my son.”

Talia’s actual son-  _ what was his name? _ \- scoffed from behind her, and Jason didn’t need to see her face to know the expression she wore when she whirled around to face him. The boy’s immediately remorseful expression said it all, and Jason had to hold in a laugh. He was well acquainted with the look Talia had shot towards her son, as she had used it on him many times throughout his training.

Talia turned to look between the two of them, and said, “Damian, this is Jason. He is your brother.” 

Damian-  _ so that’s what his name is _ \- nodded at Jason, and Jason managed to smile in return. His head was swimming. Sure, they had removed the casual sexual encounters from their relationship a few months ago, around the time she regained custody of Damian from her father, but a few months was a short time for such a drastic change to their relationship dynamics. From lovers to being mother-son? Hell, if Jason was being honest with himself, he was still attracted to Talia. She was beautiful and strong. And now he was supposed to think of her as a mother?  _ What the fuck, Talia? _

Talia nodded in satisfaction. 

“Very good. Now Damian, it is time for your lessons. Come.” 

The two of them left the room, leaving a very confused, but touched, Jason in their wake. He still didn’t even know where he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Jason quickly found out that he was in Nanda Parbat, headquarters of the League of Assassins. 

At first, it was a source of fear for him. After all, he hadn’t been there since Talia had dunked him in the Lazarus Pit against her father’s orders, and had to flee immediately after. However, it slowly became a source of comfort for him. This was one place Bruce would never be able to touch him. Also, he had barely seen Ra’s al Ghul, who Jason was worried would throw him out on sight.

Jason’s injuries had started to heal a lot faster than he thought they would, considering the severity. After only 10 days, he had been able to leave his bed with use of a wheelchair. Damian was generally the one to push him around. Despite their rocky start, the two of them had developed a strong bond. With lack of better things to have him do, Talia had decided to have Jason teach Damian about English literature, with a particular focus on Shakespeare. It quickly became one of Damian’s favorite lessons: Jason was bright, clever, and kind.

Two weeks after his arrival in Nanda Parbat, Jason was allowed to walk around unaided, although the doctors suggested that he shouldn’t leave his room unaccompanied in case he fell or injured himself further. Jason asked how he was healing so fast. Talia posited that it was a beneficial effect of his submergence in the Lazarus Pit, and the doctors concurred.

Only two months after Talia brought him to Nanda Parbat, Jason was cleared to begin light sparring. While the first couple weeks were rough for him, he quickly recovered, and he re-established himself as a fearsome close-quarters combatant. While Talia said he should be proud of himself, and even Damian admitted Jason could likely best him in a fight, Jason wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to prove himself against the best. He wanted to spar against Talia’s personal bodyguard, the legendary Lady Shiva.

\--------------------

Damian was impatient. Jason was supposed to meet him 10 minutes ago. He said they were going to start  _ Macbeth _ today in their lesson. He decided to go looking for Jason. After wandering the halls for what seemed like an eternity, Damian heard Jason’s laughter, and followed the sound. He emerged on a balcony above a courtyard, where he saw Jason and Lady Shiva circling each other. Jason appeared to be slightly limping, and Lady Shiva was seemingly favoring her left side. In a flash, Lady Shiva closed the distance, and Damian’s breath caught in his throat. Jason was  _ defending himself successfully _ against Lady Shiva. He had never seen anyone last more than a few seconds against her. Jason caught a punch, and threw Lady Shiva over his shoulder. She went with the movement and rolled back onto her feet and into a ready position before Jason could even take a step. Jason paused, and Lady Shiva smirked. 

“Had enough? Are you surrendering?” Jason laughed, and motioned her forward. 

“Bring it, Sandy.”

Damian gasped. Jason had just referred to Lady Shiva by her given name. No, not even her proper name, but a familiar version of it. He hoped Lady Shiva wouldn’t kill Jason.

Lady Shiva just grinned and rolled her eyes. She immediately launched herself into a complex series of strikes, moving faster than the eye could follow. Jason managed to keep up with the furious barrage for a few seconds, but a kick to his side landed and winded him. Lady Shiva pressed her advantage before he could recover and swept him onto the ground. Damian, despite his best efforts, had to blink, and when his eyes reopened, Jason was tapping out, wrapped up in a chokehold.

Lady Shiva let go and stood up. Jason followed her to his feet. He chuckled. “One of these days… someday I will beat you, and you will admit that I’m funny.” Lady Shiva grinned. “What, you don’t want to go again?” Jason shook his head. “I’d love to, but I think our spectator is wondering why I’m late to our lesson.” He pointed at Damian on the balcony. Damian blushed at having been caught watching. He wondered how Jason had seen him. After all, he was sparring against one of the best fighters in the world. Shouldn’t that have demanded his full attention?

Lady Shiva laughed, and she and Jason bowed to one another. Jason grabbed a towel from off a bench, and met Damian in the hallway. He smiled. “Hey there, squirt, excited to start  _ Macbeth _ ?”


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later, Jason was gone.

Damian was concerned. They had just finished  _ Macbeth _ , and Jason said they would take a break from Shakespeare, maybe read some Chaucer. But now he was gone.

Leaving Jason’s room, he ran into his Mother. “Damian, I’ve been looking for you” she said. She opened her mouth to say more, but Damian cut her off.

“Mother, where is Jason?”

“He left last night. Don’t worry, he’s safe. I sent him to one of my old teachers. I needed to fulfill a promise to her. My son, Jason is a special man. This teacher, she will help him fulfill his true potential.” She paused, and knelt down to look Damian in the eyes. “I know you’ll miss him, but you’re leaving too. Your grandfather… he is becoming unstable, and I don’t want you to come to any harm because of it.”

“But where am I going?”

“You are going to Gotham. You are going to meet your father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jason went to train with the All-Caste.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Hopefully I can get more motivation to write more in this series or Phoenix Ascending soon!


End file.
